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Laurence Alma-Tadema
Laurence Alma-Tadema (August 1865 -12 March 1940) was an English poet and prose writer of the late 19th and early 20th centuries who wrote in many genres.Susan Brown, Patricia Clements, & Isobel Grundy, Laurence Alma-Tadema, Orlando Project: Women's Writing in the British Isles from the Beginning to the Present. Web, August 16, 2011. Life She was born Laurense Tadema in Brussels, the eldest daughter of Dutch painter Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836–1912) and his 1st wife, Marie-Pauline Gressin (Dumoulin). She appears in the painting by her father This is our corner (http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artwork.php?artworkid=13422), 1873, also known as Laurense and Anna Alma-Tadema, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam) as the young girl in the foreground holding papers. Her younger sister Anna is shown lying on the bed in the background. Her stepmother, Lady Laura Theresa Alma-Tadema (1852–1909), and sister, Anna Alma-Tadema (1867–1943) were also noted artists. Laurence Alma-Tadema lived in "The Fair Haven", Wittersham, Kent. She involved herself with music and plays with the villagers and their children, going on to construct a building to seat 100 people, used for musical concerts and plays, which she named "Hall of Happy Hours". Alma-Tadema, who had socialist leanings, travelled to America in 1907–08 to tour the country widely. She gave a series of readings on the "Meaning of Happiness," which proved exceedingly popular. She also spoke on the plight of divided Poland and asked her audience to express their feelings for this cause. Alma Tadema had a close association with Poland. She was secretary of the "Poland and the Polish Victims Relief Fund" from 1915 to 1939. She was an admirer and long-term associate of Ignacy Jan Paderewski both as far as his music and political activities were concerned, notably on Polish independence. Alma-Tadema maintained a long-correspondence from him from 1915 to the end of her life. She never married and died in a nursing home in London in 1940. Writing Her debut novel, Love's Martyr, was published in 1886. In addition to her own collections of stories and poems, which she often published herself, Alma-Tadema wrote 2 novels, songs, and works on drama; she also made translations. She contributed widely to periodicals, notably The Yellow Book, and also edited one herself. Some of Alma-Tadema's plays were successfully produced in Germany. The Orlando Project says of Alma-Tadema's writing that the "characteristic tone is one of intense emotion, but in prose and verse she has the gift of compression". Recognition Alma-Tadema's poem "If No One Ever Marries Me", written in 1897 and published in Realms of Unknown Kings, was included in 1900 in the musical score, The Daisy Chain,: Cycle of twelve songs of childhood by Liza Lehmann, and in 1922 in the musical score Little girls composed by Louise Sington. It was revived as a song in the 21st century by Natalie Merchant on her double album Leave Your Sleep. . See Interactive transcript for referred fact. Publications Poetry *''Realms of Unknown Kings''. London: Grant Richards, 1897. *''Songs of Womanhood. London: Grant Richards, 1903. *''A Few Lyrics. London: Elkin Mathews, 1909. *''A Gleaner's Sheaf: Verses''. London: St. Martin's Press, 1927. *''The Divine Orbit: Seventeen sonnets''. Wittersham, Kent, UK: printed by Finden Brown, 1933. Plays *''One Way of Love: A play''. Edinburgh: R. & R. Clark, 1893. *''Four plays''. London: Green Sheaf, 1905. Fiction *''Love's Martyr. London: Longmans, Green, 1886; New York, D. Appleton, 1886. *The Wings of Icarus: Being the life of one Emilia Fletcher. London & New York: Macmillan, 1894. *''The Crucifix: A Venetian fantasy, and other tales. London: Osgood, McIlvaine, 1895. *''The Fate-Spinner''. London: E.B. Mortlock, 1900. Non-fiction *''The Meaning of Happiness: A discourse''. London: *''Poland, Russia and the war. London: St. Catherine Press, 1915. Children's books *''Songs of Childhood. Wrotham, Kent, UK: Herb o'Grace, 1902. *''Tales from my Garden: Three fairy tales''. London: The Green Sheaf, 1906. Translated *Maurice Maeterlinck, Pelleas and Melisanda and the Sightless: Two plays. London: Walter Scott, 1895. Edited * The Herb o'Grace (periodical). Wrotham, Kent, UK: 1901-1902. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au: Laurence Alma-Tadema, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, June 27, 2013. See also * List of British poets References External links ;Poems *"The Call of the Green" *Laurence Alma-Tadema pome ("Playgrounds") at the Academy of American Poets *Laurence Alma Tadema 1864-1940 at the Poetry Foundation ;Books * *Laurence Alma-Tadema at Amazon.com *Works by or about Laurence Alma-Tadema at Internet Archive ;About *Laurence Alma-Tadema at the Orlando Project Category:British writers Category:British poets Category:British dramatists and playwrights Category:Children's writers Category:1865 births Category:1940 deaths Category:19th-century poets Category:19th-century women writers Category:Victorian poets Category:Victorian women writers Category:20th-century poets Category:20th-century women writers Category:English poets Category:English-language poets Category:English women writers Category:Poets Category:Women poets